Republican Donald Trump sweeps to victory in Nevada

Feb 24, Washington: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has won a third straight primary victory in the Nevada caucuses, cementing a lead that could soon be insurmountable in the presidential race, according to US media.

The billionaire now has three consecutive wins, after victories in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who have been attacking each other this week, are vying for second place.

Party officials said they were looking into reports of double voting and not enough ballots at one caucus site.

In his victory speech, Trump told a roaring crowd of supporters: "We're winning, winning, winning the country, and soon the country is going to start winning, winning, winning, news reported.

Some 30 delegates - around one percent of the total - are up for grabs in the Nevada caucuses, the first Republican test in the west of the United States.

With nearly 90 percent of the votes counted, Donald Trump has a 46 percent lead over the rest of the Republican pack, with his closest rival Marco Rubio getting 23 percent.